Chapter 103: Contacting Sylara

Red tapped his index finger against the console. He pressed the reconnect key. The system attempted to bridge the gap to the eastern hive-minds for another full minute before the line died a second time.

He set his jaw, leaned forward, and slammed the dial key a third time.

The primary monitor instantly flashed a harsh, blinding crimson.

[ ERROR: TARGET HAS BLOCKED YOUR COMMUNICATION LINK ]

Red stared at the glaring crimson text holding her rejection. He swiped the error message off his primary monitor, plunging the screen back into the cool, dark topography of the continental map.

Forcing a digital channel with a complete shut-in was a dead end. If the Mycelium Queen refused to answer the terminal, he had to knock on her physical door. The expanding highway was going to inevitably drag his subterranean Omni-Spore roots right into her fungal network. He needed to establish a baseline reaction before their massive biological ecosystems violently collided.

Red opened his faction’s inventory logs. He scanned his current stockpile for a viable bribe, bypassing the heavy weaponry and standard currency to isolate the absolute highest-quality materials his empire produced. He needed something that a Rank 17 hive-mind might actually find interesting.

He activated the neural tether to the Bastion.

“Krug,” Red commanded, his voice echoing down the link.

Down in the humid depths of the swamp, the High Priest responded instantly, the ambient sound of grinding stone bleeding through the audio feed. “Ka-Lam-Tee. The Treants are currently bracing the new temple foundations.”

“Pull two of your best scouts off the perimeter,” Red instructed. “Find Moss-Eye and Swift-Tail.”

Krug let out a low, respectful hiss. “They are incredibly quick, Lord. They know how to move through the deep brush without snapping a single twig.”

“They are going on a diplomatic run,” Red stated, bringing up the regional map to plot a direct route toward the eastern fungal borders. “Pack them a light transport sled. Load it with a ceremonial chest of our purest Omni-Spore sap and a bundle of refined star-iron. They are going to walk up to the edge of the Mycelium Queen’s territory and leave a physical gift on her doorstep.”

Red finalized the coordinates and transmitted the data packet directly into Krug’s mind.

“Tell them to keep their weapons sheathed and their heads down,” Red added. “We are testing the waters. I need to see exactly how a Rank 17 hive-mind reacts to a friendly knock on the door.”

Several hours later, the live tactical feed from the eastern perimeter snapped into focus on Red’s secondary monitor.

Moss-Eye and Swift-Tail crouched low in the damp undergrowth, their slit-pupils completely dilated. The border of the Mycelium Queen’s domain looked like a vibrant, bioluminescent nightmare. Towering fungal stalks pulsed with unnatural cyan light, casting long shadows across the mossy dirt.

The two elite scouts carefully unlashed the heavy wooden chest from their sled. Swift-Tail pushed the lid open, exposing the bundled star-iron ingots and the sealed jars of pure Omni-Spore sap. They backed away slowly, gripping their iron-tipped spears, and waited in the suffocating silence.

The tree line violently shuddered.

A colossal silhouette pushed through the glowing canopy. A Level 40 Spore-Behemoth, a heavily mutated ursine predator covered in thick, armor-like fungal plates, lumbered into the clearing. Toxic green vapor hissed from the heavy vents along its spine. Moss-Eye let out a panicked hiss, dropping into a desperate defensive stance alongside Swift-Tail.

The massive beast closed the distance in seconds, towering over the offering. It then abruptly dropped onto its heavy haunches, sitting down in the dirt with entirely docile body language.

A cluster of delicate, translucent mushrooms sprouting directly from the center of the behemoth’s skull began to pulse with a soft, rhythmic glow. The beast lowered its massive head and gently nudged the wooden chest with its snout.

A hyper-accelerated wave of white mycelium instantly exploded from the beast’s breath. The fungal network aggressively swarmed the offering. The dense star-iron rusted and dissolved into glowing moss within seconds. The sealed jars shattered, abandoning the precious Omni-Spore sap to be entirely devoured by the ravenous spores.

Down in the dirt, the Kobolds braced for an imminent slaughter, assuming their diplomatic gift had just provoked a violent execution.

Up in the dark expanse of the Void, Red watched the live feed with a clenched jaw. He rested his hand over the tactical smite command on his console, ready to vaporize the behemoth to save his scouts.

A sharp chime echoed through his terminal.

[ PASSIVE TRIBUTE ACCEPTED ]

[ FACTION ALIGNMENT: NEUTRAL ]

Red pulled his hand away from the console. The Rank 17 ecosystem was simply so overwhelmingly powerful that it autonomously digested the heavy metal and sap as raw nutrients, registering the violent chemical breakdown as a successful transaction.

Down in the forest, the behemoth gently pushed a heavy, woven silk-moth sack across the dirt toward the trembling Kobolds. The bag spilled open, revealing a massive bundle of incredibly rare, high-tier medicinal spores. The terrifying beast gave a soft, rumbling huff before turning around and lumbering quietly back into the bioluminescent woods.

Before Red could fully process the bizarre physical exchange, his primary monitor flashed. The communication block he had hit earlier was suddenly lifted. A single, highly encrypted text window popped onto his screen.

[ INCOMING MESSAGE: SYLARA ]

[ The sap is very sweet. It looks like you made good use of my omni-web spore seed. Please do not send more people to the edge of the woods. They are very loud. I have attached a deep-root scan of the northern static. Please take it and leave the canopy in peace. ]

[ FILE RECEIVED: NORTHERN TOPOGRAPHY AND GLITCH MIGRATION ]

[ CONNECTION SEVERED ]

[ ERROR: TARGET HAS BLOCKED YOUR COMMUNICATION LINK ]

Red stared at the file Sylara had sent.

“This… is…” Red rubbed his hand over his face to calm himself down. “So she already knew what I wanted. Does that mean she is keeping an eye on me? Or did she just guess it? No… the timing is too weird. How did she know I wanted to contact her for the map and details?’

Red glanced over at the screen that was showing the spread and reach of his omni-web network.

“Does she also have access to that?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep